Toure could face FA action

Manchester City's failure to beat Norwich could be compounded if the FA opts to take action against star midfielder Yaya Toure next week.

The Ivorian appeared to kick out at Canaries forward Ricky van Wolfswinkel in the final minutes of Saturday's goalless draw at Carrow Road.

Chelsea took advantage of City's slip, and Arsenal's 5-1 hammering at Liverpool, to go top of the Premier League.

The Blues are back in action against Sunderland on Wednesday, but before then the FA may decide to take retrospective action against Toure if the incident was missed by the match officials, which appeared to be the case.

James Milner insists City must not dwell on the points dropped in Norfolk against a team they had thrashed 7-0 at the Etihad Stadium in November.

With Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri and Fernandinho still missing through injury, a first-half header from Alvaro Negredo against the crossbar was about as close as City came as they failed to score in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since January 1 2012, having lost at home to Chelsea last Monday.

However, Milner - recalled to the centre of midfield on recovery from a groin injury - insists all of City's qualities cannot be overlooked by a couple of below-par displays.

"We were on top and had them penned in, they had a late chance but when you have that much possession, especially in the second half, it is disappointing not to get a goal," Milner told the club's official website, www.mcfc.co.uk.

"But you have to take the positives. We kept a clean sheet and maybe at the start of the season that is a game we would have come away and lost.

"We know the goals will come, we have created enough chances and probably should have got one, but it just did not go for us.

"You could look at it as two points dropped, but it is a point on the board and there is a long way to go."

City will look to get their Premier League campaign back on track at home to the Black Cats, a match which will be a dress rehearsal for the Capital One Cup final in March.

Milner is expecting another stern test of the character within Pellegrini's squad.

"You can see how tight the league is at the top and the bottom, everyone you play is scrapping for points and a win can mean a big difference in league position," he said.

"We are at home and it will be a lot different to the cup final, but we need to bounce back from this and show we are ready to go again."

The point earned could yet prove crucial for Norwich in their battle to stay clear of the relegation zone, the Norfolk side now in 16th place but only two ahead of West Brom.

Indeed, the Canaries could have snatched a dramatic winner in the closing minutes when a cross from Nathan Redmond ran through the six-yard box just ahead of Van Wolfswinkel and then Anthony Pilkington fired an angled drive just over.

After a frustrating period where results have probably not matched what have largely been positive performances, defender Martin Olsson is confident Chris Hughton's men can finally build some momentum as they prepare for Tuesday's trip to fellow relegation battlers West Ham.

The Sweden international said: "It is crucial to keep a clean sheet, and if we can score as well then we can start to win games.

"We have a tough game coming up against West Ham, where hopefully we can get three points.

"Every game is going to be a real battle now, but we are ready - none of us are going to hide, we will go out and give it our all."